U.S., some Swiss banks close to tax probe settlement -Justice Dept

August 28, 2013|Reuters

WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. government expectsto announce within days a program that would allow some Swissbanks to avoid or defer prosecution over a long-running probe ofoffshore tax dodging by Americans, a senior Justice Departmentofficial said on Wednesday.

The program would exclude 14 Swiss banks that are alreadyunder investigation, the Justice official told reporters on aconference call, which followed reports out of Switzerland thatthe government there was ready to end the long-running dispute.

"We expect in the next several days to announce a programthat would allow certain Swiss banks that want to obtain aresolution with the Department of Justice to come forward and dothat," said the senior official, who requested anonymity becausethe deal has yet to be finalized.